


The Broken Pride

by Destinee Zara (LadyDestineeZara)



Series: The Red Hero Saga [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All characters (except Pidge) are 18+ unless told otherwise, Also there will be mentions of sheith in the future, Angst, Gen, More things to be added in the future I guess, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-09-08 11:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8843311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDestineeZara/pseuds/Destinee%20Zara
Summary: A Pride of Lions is a family.And families shouldn't hurt each other.What will the Voltron team do when they realise that and realise that they had hurt Keith?Spin off from "What Makes a Hero?"The story start in chapter 14 of "What Makes a Hero?" and will continue from there





	1. The easy and wrong way out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **THIS STORY IS CONNECTED COMPLETELY CONNECTED TO THE FANFIC "What Makes a Hero?" (It is connected to chapter 14 to be exact). IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE UNLESS YOU ARE UP TO DATE WITH IT FIRST!**
> 
> THIS STORY IS UNEDITED! So, pardon any English mistakes (let me know if you find any). Also, Engrishi is not my first language, so forgive my mistakes if I don’t Engrishi well.
> 
> I don't know if I'm going to finish this, ok? So don't mind if I drop this in the middle (I'll try my best, though). YOU CAN ALLWAYS HELP WITH COMMENTS!
> 
> Just one little note before you start reading:  
> \- [text after dashes] = TALKING (A Romance Language custom, I guess)  
> "[Text between quotation marks]" = THOUGHTS/MEMORIES  
> text in italic = THE LIONS TALKING
> 
> Now, to the story!

\- Lance, – Shiro said over the communicators while massaging his own forehead in irritation – go check on the Galra. He just dropped the red bayard and ran.

Lance groaned while he left the Blue Lion.

\- Who cares? He gave the bayard back already!

\- It is a suspicious attitude. He might be calling for reinforcements.

\- We are going to go through a wormhole anyway! It doesn’t matter!

\- Lance.

\- All right! All right! I’ll go! Jeez.

Annoyed, Lance walked towards the Red Lion’s hangar. After all, the Galra was ALWAYS there.

Lance didn’t though that the Galra wanted to steal Red. After all, he had found Blue way before them all. If the Galra wanted to take Voltron to Zarkon, he could have done it a lot earlier. Lance was convinced that the real mission of the Galra was to make their lives as miserable as possible and to corrupt all the Lions. That was the only explanation that the Blue Paladin could think of and that would explain the constant attacks (that were more of an annoyance than worrisome) and the fact that the Lions were in a “strike”.

Blue had been adamant about “grounding” him. She kept insisting that “Red’s kitten” was innocent, and that they were being unfair with the Galra, but, honestly, the Lions were wrong on that one. At least, that was Lance’s opinion. He loved Blue, but she seemed to be kinda dense on that subject.

Oddly enough, the Galra was not on Red’s hangar.

Lance groaned. Why did the Galra decide to be weird today?

They were already all stressed out and anxious because of the meeting of that morning. Couldn’t the Galra just give them a break?

\- Shiro! He is not here! – the Blue Paladin complained over the coms.

Shiro grunted in annoyance.

\- Check the areas around you. I’ll see if I can locate him on the cameras.

\- Copy that.

Lance didn’t know what to think about the earlier meeting.

He agrees with Hunk. They couldn’t just kill someone in cold blood. That was a shitty attitude. Even if he indeed hated the Galra, they couldn’t just do that. It was not cool on his book.

However, the Lions were misbehaving because of the Galra and they couldn’t afford to have that. It wasn’t tactical to have Lions in a strike, especially during a war against the Galra Empire. The universe depended on them and they couldn’t afford to have malfunction Lions.

(There was also a small part of Lance that desperately wanted to agree with Shiro and Allura. Shiro was his hero and Allura was the most badass person he had ever met. He wanted to be as cool as them. So maybe, just maybe, he was inclined to change his vote also to please them).

He agreed with Hunk, but there were other things to be considered.

Lance wished that he didn’t need to make that call. It was too heavy, even if it was a decision that needed to be made.

A few noises coming from one of the common hangars attracted Lance’s attention.

The door was wide open and the lights were on.

The Galra was kneeled beside one of the exploration pods (like the one Pidge would take if she had decided to leave the team to search for her family). He seemed to be trying to steal the pod.

Lance felt anger inside him. An anger that he couldn’t exactly explain the reason, but that it was aimed to the enemy in front of him. He activated his bayard and put at the back of the Galra’s helmet.

\- What the fuck do you think you are doing? – Lance asked with venom in his voice.

The Galra raised his hands in surrender without turning to face the paladin.

He spoke with a blank voice (like the blank annoying ugly face that he had on the last few weeks).

\- I’m sorry, Lance. I can’t stay here any longer.

The Blue paladin glared holes at the back of the helmet. The anger boiled inside him like a geyser.

\- So you are a backstabber _and_ a coward? You can’t handle the pressure, can you?

The Galra took his time to answer slowly.

\- I’m sorry, Lance.

Lance stared at the back of the Galra’s head for a few moments.

As if magic, there was the Galra himself offering a solution to the earlier dilemma.

If he just left, they wouldn’t need to actually kill him AND they could use that to convince the Red Lion that he never deserved to be a paladin to begin with. Also, that probably would make the surprise attacks stop AND could make the other Lions stop to misbehave.

It seemed to Lance like a win-win situation.

He was still angry with the Galra for all the problems that he had caused, so he decided to take his anger on him for the last time.

The Blue paladin hit the other hard with his bayard butt.

It took the Galra by surprise, and he stumbled on the floor, staring at Lance. It was impossible to know his expression because of the helmet, but it didn’t matter to Lance.

He allowed himself to speak whatever was in his mind, wishing that it would hurt the Galra.

\- YOU FUCKING COWARD! You don’t even DESERVE to be a paladin! Go! Go back to your filthy Galra lair with your dirty Galra friends!

He glared full of rage at the creature on the floor.

The Blue paladin spit on the Galra’s helmet. He wished he could spit on his face, but it was out of question.  

One last show of how he despised him.

\- Send Zarkon my regards! – he said with sarcasm before turning his back on the Galra.

He walked to the main bridge for debrief and to inform the others of the solution to their problem.

Lance wanted to be happy about it.

It was the easy way out!

They didn’t need to make the hard call and execute another being.

They wouldn’t even need to vote again! There was no need for arguments between them.

It was _indeed_ a win-win situation!

So why Lance felt as if he was screwing up somehow?

He entered the main bridge just as Allura had opened the wormhole.

\- Where is the Galra? – Pidge asked annoyed.

Lance opened his mouth to answer, but Coran interrupted him.

\- He just took off! He stole one of the ships!

\- WHAT!? – Allura shouted, anger filling her one more time.

Coran pointed to the monitor.

\- One of the exploration pods had just left the Castle, my princess.

Shiro turned to Lance with a glare and anger.

\- You let the Galra escape?

Shiro knew that that was a better solution to their dilemma. However, something complex inside him didn’t want to let the Galra have an easy way out. The Black paladin hated to admit, but he still felt connected to that dirty Galra, even if it was a link made of hate and wrath.

Lance felt all the others stare at him with anger and annoyance.

He shrugged.

\- Come on, guys! We were discussing killing him right this morning! Since he was a coward and chose to leave, I thought it would be the best solution!

\- Lance, we still need him to form Voltron! – Hunk said with a worried expression.

“Something is not right” the Yellow paladin thought, although he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was so bad about the Galra, Keith, leaving.

\- We can choose another person to fly Red. – Lance answered in a matter-of-fact way – It isn’t like this hadn’t happened before.

\- What the fuck do you mean? – Pidge asked rolling her eyes.

\- Language.

\- Sorry, Shiro.

To be honest, the Green paladin was relieved that she wouldn’t need to execute someone. However, she wouldn’t admit that, not even to herself. In her head, the Galra didn’t deserve any form of sympathy, and relief was something too soft for her taste. In Pidge’s head, they had just left a monster on the loose.

\- Well, Zarkon was the Black paladin before, and he is still pretty much alive. And yet, Shiro is the Black paladin now. So I guess we can have a similar situation with Red.

They all stared at him with different feelings. Some looked at Lance as if he had grown a second head, while the others nodded.

\- Sounds like a sensible solution. – Coran said nodding – Are all in favour of just abandoning the Galra and carrying on?

\- Yes. – Lance answered with certainty.

\- Seems like the sensible solution, indeed. – Allura agreed.

\- Yeah, whatever. – Pidge shrugged.

\- I agree. – Shiro added.

They all stared at Hunk, who was quiet for a long time.

\- Oh, come on, man! – Lance shouted.

\- Sorry, Lance, but I have a few issues with this plan. What if Red refuses the new paladin, for example?

\- Then we look for another person suitable to ride Voltron. – Shiro said calmly – Also, Hunk, if he stays, we still will have the same problems as before.

Hunk sighed.

\- Yeah… Ok, I agree with this plan, but I want everybody to know that I have a bad feeling about this.

\- Dully noted. – Lance answered – So we just need to go through the wormhole and we never will need to see the Galra ugly face again!

\- Good point.

And they entered the wormhole.

Hunk looked back through one of the big windows just before the portal closed behind them.

His instincts told him that they were making a mistake.

He felt nervous.

Even if that was the best plan, so they wouldn’t commit murder, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what.

\- I have a bad feeling about this. – he said to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making off of the story:
> 
> HI!  
> WELCOME TO THIS NEW SPIN OFF! 8D
> 
> Since for the next chapters of "What Makes a Hero?" we will only be seeing Keith and none of the rest of the Voltron team, I mande this spin off fanfic telling the events from the Voltron team POV from this moment and fowards =D  
> The stories "What Makes a Hero?" and "The Broken Pride" will be very different (because they will have different events happening to different people), but at some point they will converge into a common story line.  
> The updates will not be as fast as "What Makes a Hero?" because I decided to publish it in the right cronology. That means that it is the fanfic "What Makes a Hero?" (the main story of the "Red Hero Saga") that will dictate the pace of the stuff that will happen.  
> The main story and their spin offs are all conected under the "The Red Hero Saga" Series =3
> 
> Anyways!  
> Enough explanation about the spin off!  
> Let's focus on the story _per se_.
> 
> This chapter is kinda small conpared to others on "What Makes a Hero?", but I believe that the next ones will be bigger. Huge even.  
> Just saying 83
> 
> Man, I don't know why, but I really don't like to write from Lance's POV. I don't think I did a good job on it. All the characters are complex, that makes them hard to write in a convincing way. What do you think? Do you think I made a good Lance?
> 
> Also, I like to compare the narrator from this fanfic to the main story "What Makes a Hero?". Like, on "WMAH?", the narrator called Keith by his name, while here Keith is refered as "the Galra". I don't know, I thought it was interesting xD (this probably will change in the future, though 83c)
> 
> EDIT: Also, does anyone noticed my Star Wars references? xD haha I know, it is stupid, but I LOVE Star Wars
> 
>  **IF YOU NEED A REASON TO KEEP READING THIS FANFIC:**  
>  they will soon start to realize that they made a HUGE mistake and hurt a dear friend. And I'll try to make it EPIC! 8D
> 
> Yeah, I'm spoiling my own fanfic ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Stay tuned anyway =D
> 
> (Also, comment if you like, ok? Pretty please?)
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed it! Leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this story s2
> 
> I'm on tumblr if you want to find me! (I'm kinda awkward, but yeah...).  
> [@wonderland-s-angel](wonderland-s-angel.tumblr.com). I swear that I don't bite, I'm just a dork with a pink blog.  
> I'm having some problems with the tagging system on tumblr, so if you want to tag me on something use my other url [@wonderland-s-angel-omens](wonderland-s-angel-omens.tumblr.com) and I'll see you =3
> 
> Comments help me to get going, you know. Like, SERIOUSLY, they keep me going. I'm insecure as hell and I need to know that you think of the new chapter.
> 
> I hope I’ll see ya in the next chapter.
> 
> Bye-bye! o/


	2. Reactions to an absence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS STORY IS CONNECTED TO THE FANFIC "What Makes a Hero?". IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE UNLESS YOU ARE UP TO DATE WITH IT FIRST!
> 
> THIS STORY IS UNEDITED! So, pardon any English mistakes (let me know if you find any). Also, Engrishi is not my first language, so forgive my mistakes if I don’t Engrishi well.
> 
> I don't know if I'm going to finish this, ok? So don't mind if I drop this in the middle (I'll try my best, though). YOU CAN ALLWAYS HELP WITH COMMENTS!
> 
> Just one little note before you start reading:  
> \- [text after dashes] = TALKING (A Romance Language custom, I guess)  
> "[Text between quotation marks]" = THOUGHTS/MEMORIES/THE LIONS TALKING BETWEEN THEMSELVES  
>  _text in italic_ = THE LIONS TALKING TO THE PALADINS
> 
> Now, to the story!

It seemed like a lot of tension was taken from the team’s shoulders.

They felt like there was no more need to worry.

No more need to make sure that the Galra was not listening to their meetings.

No more need to argue if they should waste resources on the Galra.

And hopefully, no more Galra attacks.

Red and the other Lions seemed to be the only ones not ok with that.

As soon as they outed the wormhole, Red felt that something was wrong.

Keith was not there.

He was not at the Castle anymore.

She could sense that he was still alive, but that he hadn’t crossed the wormhole with them. He had already been too far away for her comfort before the passage (as if he was out of the Castle), but now there was no doubt anymore.

He was not there.

HE WAS NOT THERE!

Red screamed in pain and anger. It was so intense that even her corporeal form roared.

Blue, always the first to check on her most beloved sister.

“Sis…”

“He is not here, Blue! HE IS NOT HERE! KEITH IS GONE!”

And she cried and cried. Blue was the one that explained the situation to the others, because Red was a mess.

It was similar to lose their old paladins all over again. They could all feel her distress and their essences touched in a tight incorporeal hug in which it was hard to know where one of them started and where the other would finish.

Meanwhile, the remaining paladins and the Alteans heard Red’s roar and stared at each other in surprise.

(As if they didn’t expect the Lions to notice and to react. A stupid mistake).

Hunk groaned.

\- I TOLD you that it was a bad idea!

Pidge rolled her eyes.

\- Relax, Hunk! It is probably just Red.

\- Indeed. – Coran added looking at the security cameras – It was Red roaring. Probably because of the Galra.

Allura shook her head.

\- Even in its absence, the Galra is causing us trouble.

\- We should go back and pick him up. – Hunk said with conviction.

All of the other stared at him unimpressed.

\- Sorry, Hunk, but no. – Shiro answered – And I don’t think that anyone will back you up on this.

\- What about Red? We cannot form Voltron without her!

Allura shrugged.

\- Once the spell the Galra put on her worn off, she will probably come to her senses. Then we help her pick up another paladin.

Hunk frowned.

\- I have a feeling that it will not be that easy.

And the next few days proved him right.

Although there was less tension between the paladins and the Alteans, the Lions were the first to show signs that maybe that wasn’t the best decision that the Voltron team had taken.

After Red had calmed down from the first shock impact, the Lions reunited themselves in a new Council.

“I demand BLOOD!” Red started.

Green made a scoff sound.

“How original”.

“Fuck you, Green!”

“How dare-“

“LADIES!” the Oldest interrupted them “We cannot fight between us! We need to stay together to find a solution to this mess”.

“But, what can we do?” Yellow asked with hopelessness.

Blue sighed.

“Not even a strike we can do anymore! Not with a missing paladin”.

Red growled and roared in frustration.

“I HATE when you are right, Blue”.

Blue would shrug if she could.

There was a hopeless silence.

Black break it, saying the things no one wanted to say.

“We indeed cannot sustain a strike with a missing paladin. We also cannot do much to rescue Keith. All we can do is talk to our protégés while Red will refuse to accept anyone but Keith as her pilot.” She sighed “Let’s hope that the paladins will realize the mistake they did and do their best to fix their broken Pride”.

Red shuddered with fear.

“What if it is too late? What Keith will be… be…”

All the Lions shared her fear and tried to console their sister’s conscience with their presences.

They all feared with what could happen to Keith, a lost boy alone in space.

Black sighed with sadness.

“We have no other choice, Red”.

With that, they had ended that council with sadness and feeling hopeless.

Following their decision, they started to try to talk to their paladins right on the next day.

 _You made a mistake_. – Green said to Pidge.

Pidge blinked in confusion.

\- What are you talking about, girl?

Green sighed.

_You made a decision without having any evidence at all. And now Red’s apprentice is lost._

Pidge got angry, like she would always be when they talked about Keith. She clenched her fists and glared at the Lion’s panel.

\- For the last time, Green, he is a TRAITOR!

_Where is the evidence of his treason, Katherine?_

\- For fuck’s sake! He is **Galra**!

Pidge said that word with disgust, with hate, as if Keith was personally responsible for all the misfortunes in the universe.

Green was furious.

_How dare you call yourself a paladin of Voldron! And worse: How dare you call yourself a scientist, Katherine Holt?!_

Green opened her mouth.

_Leave._

Pidge glared at the celling.

\- So this is the game you are going to play now?

_Leave! I don’t want to see you so soon._

Pidge made an undignified sound.

\- FINE! Suit yourself!

And she left in the middle of the bonding exercise.

Shiro was just as complicated, even if his reaction was not so hot tempered.

 _Are you proud of yourself?_ – Black asked with calm anger.

Shiro raised his eyebrows.

\- Excuse me?

_Are you proud of having abandoned one of your team mates, the most brave and selfless paladin alone in space? Are you proud now, Takashi?_

Shiro’s expression became hard and cold.

\- You are mistaken, Black. I didn’t do anything. It was him who ran away.

 _I can imagine why. Poor Keith probably couldn’t take anymore the terrible treatment that you were unfairly giving to him_.

\- He is Galra, Black. He probably was the one behind the constant Galra attacks.

_Basing the decision of abandoning someone, of treating them like rubbish, in a probability is not the decision a leader should make._

\- It is done now. Can we just continue to the bonding exercise? I don’t want to talk about it.

Outside the Lion, they saw Pidge leave Green with a frown.

_I’m not the only one upset about your stupid decision. We are all really disappointed on all of you._

Shiro massaged his forehead, but proceeded with the exercise. Black complied in a cold silence. There was a big wall in their bond that Shiro was ignoring and Black didn’t know how to destroy.

Lance and Blue conversation was not as calm and collected.

_HOW COULD YOU ABANDON RED’S KITTEN LIKE THAT!?_

(Blue hated to admit, but she was just as dramatic as her favourite sister).

Lance covered his ears.

\- Jeez, Blue! It was not like I forced him to go! He was the one that was a **coward**!

_Yes, you DID! You were treating him SO freaking badly that he couldn’t take it anymore! Do you have ANY IDEA of how much the poor boy was hurting?_

\- I don’t care about the Galra, Blue! Nobody cares about the Galra!

_He have a name! He is Keith! And I care about Keith, Red cares about Keith and ALL THE OTHER LIONS CARE ABOUT HIM!_

\- Why would you even care about the Galra?

_Because he is good! He is a great paladin and he is your friend!_

Lance felt a pang of old jealousy. The kind that he always had in his Garrison days when he or any other compared Lance with Keith.

He thought he was past that feeling, especially now that the Galra was gone.

Apparently, Lance was wrong.

\- The Galra this! The Galra that! Why don’t you just picked the Galra already! You seem to be fond of him!

 _Don’t you dare to turn this into another competition with Red’s kitten!_ – she answered angrily – _You know very well that I love YOU, but you are still a morron! How could you do that!?_

And they bicker through all the exercise.

Yellow felt like crying since all that started.

 _Why would you do that?_ – she asked in a sad tone to Hunk.

He sighed, already imagining what the theme of that conversation was. He always had a bad feeling about that (and he still have).

\- We didn’t do anything. The Galra left on his own, Yellow.

_So why didn’t you go back to pick Red’s little one up? He must be so alone right now…_

Hunk lowered his head.

He was still feeling like they made a mistake. His reason told him that it was the best decision, so they wouldn’t have blood on their hands and the Galra constant attacks would stop now. But Hunk’s heart was telling him over and over again that he made a big mistake.

Feeling Yellow’s distress only added more force to that feeling.

He watched Pidge leave Green.

Hunk grumbled.

\- I have a bad feeling about this.

After the training, the Lions told Red about what they paladins had told them.

Red growled in anger.

“He ran _AWAY_? WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Maybe he had enough of that shitty treatment” Green said with a sigh “No one can blame him for that”.

“No! Absolutely not!” Red shouted “My Keith would NEVER leave because of only that! Something must have happened!”.

“There is no evidence of that, Red”

“OF COURSE THAT THERE IS! MY BELOVED CUB HAD LEFT!”

“That is no evidence, Red” the Oldest said calmly “But it is a possibility. We shall stay alert to anything that might have caused Keith to leave”.

Even with their insistence, the Voltron team was adamant that they were better without Keith.

\- I really don’t get it. – Allura said three days later with a sigh – Why can’t the Lions see that it was for the best?

The others didn’t have any answers, and that made the princess feel anxious.

But other than that, the next three days were blissfully calm.

No attacks, and only one simple distress call.

They were starting to relax again.

Now they could just focus back on saving the universe.

Now everything would be all right!

Except it wasn’t everything all right.

On the fourth day, there was another Galra attack.

But it was ok! They could defend easily (especially now that all the Lions were working again).

It was just a single occurrence!

There was no need for the Voltron team to worry about!

Then there was the second Galra attack not longer after.

But it was still ok! It was just a coincidence!

Still nothing to worry about!

On the third attack, they all got angry.

The attacks still were on the same rate as before, even with the Galra gone.

\- That fucking Galra must have put a tracker on us! – Pidge shouted with wrath.

Allura frowned.

\- I suggest us to take it back and force it to answer where is the tracking device. Coran, can you track its ship?

Coran sighed.

\- I can, my princess, but I think it is useless.

Allura narrowed her eyes.

\- And why is that?

\- He refused to talk before. I doubt he will talk now.

\- We can always use more persuasive methods to make him talk. – Shiro suggested while examining his nails in a nonchalant fashion.

Hunk growled.

\- First you guys suggested to kill him and now you are suggesting torture? Absolutely not! No, nu-hum, nope! We are NOT doing that!

\- Yeah, dudes. – Lance added – We already solved one problem that was he spying around with that freaky hearing of his. We can find that device on our own. We were already doing it before we discovered the spy!

Pidge hummed.

\- Coran and Lance do have a point.

Hunk rolled his eyes.

\- And you guys are still down with torture. – he grumbled.

The others ignored him.

Pidge continued.

\- So do we keep trying to find the Galra frequency and forget about the Galra?

They all nod.

\- Fair enough. – Shiro answered – Pidge, please start working on that immediately.

\- I’m on it.

\- In the meanwhile, we deal with the attacks and try to find another person that suits to be the Red paladin.

\- This time someone that is not a mcfreaking Galra. – Lance said rolling his blue eyes.

\- Absolutely! – Allura agreed – Let’s put a stone over this subject and forget about that thing.

Although they were still certain that all those attacks were the Galra’s fault, they decided to move on. On their heads, that person was the enemy, and he didn’t deserve not even a minute more of their lives.

(Another decision that they would regret in the future).

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  Making off of this chapter:
> 
> This chapter was basically to show that the Lions already felt that Keith is not on the Castle anymore AND to show that the Galra attacks are still happening just like before. *sarcasm* I wonder why... 
> 
> Anyways, at least I was able to make some planning for this fanfic. Like, the original idea if for it to have 13 chapters (Most of them will be published on odd chapters of "What Makes a Hero?" then I'll change the pattern in the future)  
> For some reasons, I changed a few things about "WMaH?" (basically, I added Lior and a bunch of future characters that will be of great importance for Keith), so maybe there will be more chapters on "The Broken Pride", but I'm still seeing about it (I'll let you people know if there is any change).
> 
> Now, you might be wondering why the paladins didn't told their Lions that they were thinking about killing Keith. Well, this is not something easy to talk about, even if they were set about it. Also, they think that there is not a need to talk about it. Like, Keith is gone, so why bother.  
> This will have consequences, of course 83c
> 
> I don't have much to talk about it. Chapter 15 of "WMaH?" was far more interesting (go read it if you haven't yet =D)
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed it! Leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this story s2
> 
> I'm on tumblr if you want to find me! (I'm kinda awkward, but yeah...).  
> [@wonderland-s-angel](wonderland-s-angel.tumblr.com). I swear that I don't bite, I'm just a dork with a pink blog.  
> I'm having some problems with the tagging system on tumblr, so if you want to tag me on something use my other url [@wonderland-s-angel-omens](wonderland-s-angel-omens.tumblr.com) and I'll see you =3
> 
> Comments help me to get going, you know. Like, SERIOUSLY, they keep me going. I'm insecure as hell and I need to know that you think of the new chapter.
> 
> I hope I’ll see ya in the next chapter.
> 
> Bye-bye! o/


	3. Delenda est Carthago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS STORY IS CONNECTED TO THE FANFIC "What Makes a Hero?". IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE UNLESS YOU ARE UP TO DATE WITH IT FIRST!
> 
> THIS STORY IS UNEDITED! EDITING IS FOR BABIES! WE SUFFER FROM BAD GRAMMAR LIKE ADULTS! (Just kidding. I'm too excited to publish to edit and I don't have a beta)  
> So, pardon any English mistakes (let me know if you find any). Also, Engrishi is not my first language, so forgive my mistakes if I don’t Engrishi well.
> 
> I don't know if I'm going to finish this, ok? So don't mind if I drop this in the middle (I'll try my best, though). YOU CAN ALLWAYS HELP WITH COMMENTS!
> 
> Just one little note before you start reading:  
> \- [text after dashes] = TALKING (A Romance Language custom, I guess)  
> "[Text between quotation marks]" = THOUGHTS/MEMORIES/THE LIONS TALKING BETWEEN THEMSELVES  
>  _text in italic_ = THE LIONS TALKING TO THE PALADINS/LATIN/Enphasis sometimes o.o
> 
> Now, to the story!

Time passed and it didn’t diminish the attacks.

They continued the same.

Not more, not less.

Just the same.

The difference was that now it was something to add more anger that they felt towards that disgusting Galra.

(They refused even to say his name, as if not wanting to give more power to a devil).

Shiro, in particular, seemed to be the one with most anger and hatred. He was the first one always to suggest tracking the Galra down and torture him for information about the tracking device or just eliminating him, like a pest.

Speaking about the Galra was avoided by them. And when they talked about it was usually with anger and empty promises of mauling, especially after a new Galra attack.

Hunk was the only one that avoided speaking like that. It was too barbaric for his tastes. Also, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that they screwed up, that they shouldn’t have let him go nor they should eliminate him. He still had a bad feeling, a feeling that they did something really, really wrong.

\- It is just your soft side speaking. – Lance told him nonchalantly when they were talking about the subject.

(Lance was the only one willing to hear him talk about it. All the others would be bitter and angry. Lance just seemed relieved that it was all over. Also, they had been friends since fourth grade, there were very little that Hunk and Lance didn’t share with each other).

\- You always were a big softie, even with bullies and nasty people.

\- This is different, Lance! The Lions are upset with this situation too! And they are, like, super old and wise.

\- That just proves that whatever dark magic mumbo jumbo the Galra did with the Lions must be powerful. Maybe something from that bitch Haggar.

\- I don’t know, Lance… Something is not right. I have a bad feeling about it.

\- You tell me, Obi Wan. – he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder – Seriously, Hunk, relax! I’m sure that that was the best solution! Soon enough we will find someone that can be a good new Red Paladin and we will go on with our lives, saving the universe, being famous and meeting cute babes.

Hunk tried to keep positive as Lance suggested.

But the feeling that they had screwed up was still there.

Yellow was no help at all.

 _He is your friend!_ – she would say with sadness – _One shouldn’t just abandon their friends like that!_

\- He was giving our position. – Hunk would reply, but every day that passed made that excuse sounds weak even on his ears.

_That is not true, my little one! Please, I beg of you, reconsider and find your friend Keith!_

The Yellow paladin would only lower his head.

Whenever they rescued a planet or went on missions to look for the missing Holts, they were always evaluating if there was someone that seemed promising to be their new Red Paladin. They were looking for great ability fighting and someone that was a person of character. It seemed to be something harder to find than what it seemed.

“Do they really think that I’ll accept anyone but my cub?” Red asked annoyed to her sister Blue one afternoon when her commented about that plan of the Paladins and the Alteans “He is a good cub and as long as he is alive and is a good cub I won’t take anybody else”.

“We know” Blue sighed “But they refuse to listen! I mean, Yellow’s kitten seems to be the only one that has his mind on the right place. But all the others are still angry”.

“For no reason” Red grumbled “And is it unhealthy to keep a grudge for so long.”

“You know that that is exactly how a grudge works, right? A unjustified hate that is held for an unhealthy period of time.”

“Yeah… I know. But that doesn’t mean that I like it! Especially because my baby cub is the one at the end of this hate!”

Time passed, but it didn’t seems like their hate would fade away so soon.

Hunk, Lance and Coran, the ones that were calmer about the situation decided to take on their hands the mission to take the team head out of that grudge (Hunk a little bit more than the other two, but Lance and Coran were important). Their first strategy was to diverge the attention to a more festive subject.

Christmas.

\- I mean, - Hunk said when he propose to the rest of the team to celebrate it – It is already December on our Earth time.

\- And we TOTALLY _need_ a celebration! – Lance added with a big grin.

Allura frowned.

\- I’m not sure if taking a pause would be wise right now. We are in the middle of a war.

\- I think we should focus on more important things. – Pidge said with a frown on her lips. She was obviously thinking about her family.

\- I think it would be good for the team morale! – Coran said cheerfully – I don’t know much about this Earthling custom, but it sounds fun.

Shiro nudged Allura with his elbow and a little smile.

\- I thing a break would be great for us right now. Besides, it is only one day. Two if we count the Eve before.

\- The Galra will not give us two free days!

\- So we take it from them. – Shiro insisted – Come on! It will be fun.

Allura sighed.

\- I will not win this one, will I?

Hunk and Lance grinned.

\- Space Christmas! Space Christmas!

Pidge looked down with a mixture of anger and hurt. Shiro nudged her this time.

\- You ok?

\- We need to find my family.

\- We will, Pidge, we will. – he put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting way – But everyone need a break from time to time. Do you know that the soldiers from World War One made a ceasefire during Christmas time until the New Years?

That made her look at him with a mild interest behind her distress.

\- I don’t think Zarkon would agree with that. Besides, I celebrate Hanukah, not Christmas.

Shiro grinned.

\- So you will have to talk to Lance and Hunk before they turn it into some Christmas madness.

That made Pidge open a small smile and a timid nod.

For 20 days, things were blissful.

Most of the team almost forgot about their anger towards the Galra spy. Even Coran and Allura seemed excited for their small party after the paladins explained the details for them.

The only one still insisting on maintaining that hate was Shiro, even if it was in a cold and calm demeanor.

\- We need to go to the source of our problems. – he said after every attack on that period – We need to hunt him down and force him to reveal the tracking device and then eliminate the damn thing.

\- _Delenda est Carthago_. [Translation from Latin: Carthage must be destroyed. More explanation on the end notes] – Hunk would mumble under his breath every time, remembering his mom lessons on Latin under his request.

Because the way Shiro insisted on the destruction of the Galra seemed as unnecessary and as belligerent as the proposition to destroy Carthage after a peace treaty.

For that time period, they ignored Shiro’s suggestion. It was a happy time for them! No one wanted to spoil it with unnecessary hatred.

There had been four attacks in 20 days (a little less than what was normal). That was why on the 24th of December, they made an extra wormhole jump. Just to make sure that they wouldn’t be found by Zarkon and the Galra army so soon.

That should buy them their two days of rest and celebration.

Everything seemed perfect on the Eve before the 25th.

They had plenty of food, they had some makeshift decoration and they had found presents for each other.

Coran was grinning, having drinking a little bit too much of nunvill, Shiro was using a Santa hat and they were all on the Main Common Room, having a good time together. Nothing fancy, just some food, music, chat and a few board or card games. The team had decide to exchange gifts after the human midnight.

Everything was perfect…

… until the new Galra attack of that night.

The alarm ringed loudly, making they raise their heads in confusion and surprise.

For one instant there was stillness.

Then they all jumped into action, the paladins running to suit up and to enter their Lions, the Alteans running to the Main Bridge.

\- HOW. THE. FUCK!? – Pidge asked with fury once she was inside the Green Lion.

\- Now is not the time, Pidge. – Hunk said, already feeling the tough conversation that they would have on the subject.

\- Also, language. – Shiro added. His tone of voice was hard.

Angry.

Hunk hated to admit, but even him was angry with that new attack.

Couldn’t the Galra spy gives them even two days of break?

Once they defeated the new attack and jumped into another wormhole, they reunited for debrief.

Debrief in this case means “to speak ill of Keith”.

\- HE IS STILL SPOILING EVERYTHING! – Pidge screamed at the top of her lungs – HE STILL IS TRACKING US DOWN!

\- We have no evidence of that, Pidge! – Hunk argued back.

\- Hunk, man, you can’t defend him on this situation! – Lance shouted – He basically ruined Christmas! Fucking Christmas!

\- He is not even here!

\- That is why we should hunt him down. – Shiro said in a cold and scary calm anger – To eliminate the threat.

\- That is MURDER! – Hunk couldn’t help but punch the table for emphasis.

Shiro glared at him.

\- If you fucking stop being the devil’s advocate for one damn second you will see that this is the only solution!

\- No, it is not! That is plain murder and that is not how we should behave as paladins!

\- Hunk is right. – Coran said. His eyes were red from drinking, but he stood strong – We shall not fall into this barbaric behaviour ourselves. We have the chance to keep the high moral code and we shall keep it.

\- HE IS STILL INTERFEERING! STILL FUCKING GIVING AWAY OUR POSITION! – Pidge screamed, her face red with anger.

\- But he is not here anymore to steal our secrets. – Coran replied, staying calm, but with hard eyes – We shall not fall into barbaric ways.

There was a tense silence for a few instants.

Allura broke it.

\- It seems like we still are in a deadlock about what to do with the Galra.

Her expression was sombre and vexed.

Hunk frowned.

\- _In dubio pro reo_. [Latin: When in doubt, for the accused] – he repeated with determination.

Allura nodded.

\- We know.

\- I still think – Shiro said with his cold angry stare – that we have to eliminate the plague.

Hunk stared back, still determined.

\- Dully noted.

While the paladins were taking their armour off on the Armoury, Shiro marched to the Red Paladin stand.

Yes, they had noticed the message recorder disk that the Galra had left near the Red Paladin armour. However, just like the whole situation with the Galra, they didn’t talk about it. (Apparently, the only way they talked about the spy situation was in screams and shouts after an attack).

That Christmas, Shiro marched towards the disk feeling what he could only describe as pure hatred, a feeling that only Galra people could awake on him. Like some blinding anger that would take any calmness and patience that he could ever feel.

Shiro marched towards the disk.

He picked it, threw on the floor and stomped it with all the strength he could put on his boot.

The other three paladins only stared at him with no reaction.

Shiro stomped the disk three times before he was satisfied.

He was panting and with clenched fists and clenched jaw.

He raised his eyes for the other paladins, that were staring at him with various states of shock.

Shiro nodded.

\- Fellows.

And continued with putting away his armour as if nothing had happened.

(Gingerly, Hunk collected what was left of the disk late that night. He was going to throw it away, but he didn’t had the heart for it. He kept it safe in a drawer on his bedroom).

 _You still love him._ – Black said to Shiro on the next morning, during the bonding exercise with the Lions.

Shiro frowned.

\- I don’t know what you are talking about.

 _Oh, you surely do. You may try to deny it to me, but you cannot deny it to yourself_.

Shiro clenched his jaw.

\- What do you want me to say!? That I still think about the time he was fooling me!? How I resent that he betrayed me!? How I few like a fucking **idiot** for allowing the enemy to fuck me!?

She was silent for a few moments.

 _Keith is not the enemy, Takashi_.

\- Don’t say his name.

Shiro stood.

\- We will continue this exercise on another time.

Black couldn’t do much.

The wall between her and her protégé was still there. And against it, she couldn’t do anything.

_As you wish, my protégé. But remember: hate is just a twisted way of loving something. You still need him somehow, even if it as the object of your hatred._

He glared up, still with clenched fists.

\- Are you done?

She opened her mouth without saying anything more.

Deep down, Shiro knew that it was true.

He missed the Galra.

He missed the sweet lies that he had feed the Black Paladin. He missed the way the Galra’s hand would caress his nape when they kissed. He missed the way the Enemy held him when they slept together. He missed the way the fucking liar made him feel special and safe.

Lies.

Fucking lies and deceive.

And Shiro hated himself for believing on them.

He hated himself and he hated the Galra.

All his love, all his devotion, all what he felt for the Galra soured and burned. And from the ashes of those pleasant and warm feelings, hate and fury were born.

Hate: Love’s twisted and nefarious twin sibling.

And Shiro hated just like he loved: with his whole body and soul.

And he hated himself for that hate that he was feeling.

Made him feel dirty.

Tarnished.

Used.

It was even worse than what Haggar had done to him. It was worse because it had played him like a damn fiddle, as if he was some kind of chewing toy for the Galra Empire pleasure. A joke, a fool.

The Galra witch had defiled his body, but the Galra spy had defiled his heart.

If only the Galra was dead…

Maybe…

Just maybe…

Maybe if the Galra was dead, that feeling would go away and he could move on with his life and with saving the universe.

(He was a fool for thinking that, for he would hate Keith even beyond the grave at that point. So much undying love that he felt that birthed a hate just as deep and eternal.)

They end up exchanging gifts on the Christmas’s lunch, a bittersweet replacement for the merriness of the night before.

January seemed to pass without other great incidents. They were still tense and full of anger, but since there wasn’t another episode that could potentially raise the tension, things were back to stasis.

They celebrated Hunk’s birthday on the 13th of January the best way they could. Fortunately, there wasn’t any attacks on that day.

\- Fuck! The birthday message! – Pidge said to Hunk when the two of them were alone on the following day – We left a fucking happy birthday message for the motherfucking Galra!

Hunk sighed.

When they made the phones, they recorded birthday messages and programed the phones to ring on the midnight of all their friends birthdays (Hunk alone had recorded a message to Pidge, and Pidge had recorded one for Hunk. To keep the surprise).

A message for each member of the team.

Including the Galra.

Pidge kicked the table.

\- FUCKING FUCK! IF I KNEW-

\- If we knew, we wouldn’t have allowed him on the Castle in the first place. – Hunk interrupted her tirade – It is done now, Pidge. No need to dwell on that.

She puffed and nodded. She had no other option, after all, but to accept.

(For now).

Shiro’s birthday was next, and more attacks happened on the meanwhile. Besides that, there was no progress.

No new clues on the missing Holts.

No new clues on how to defeat Zarkon and the Galra Empire.

No good match for a new Red Paladin.

But, at least, the 28th of February was a calm day.

Good to keep things calm.

By the Ides of March something happened.

They found them.

A person that they considered a perfect match for the Red Lion.

A sanctioned and approved by the team brand new Red Paladin.

All started when they answered a distress call on an orange planet. Said planet was home of a fairly developed society, the Balfent. They happen to have a lot of a mineral that the Galra wanted, therefore, they were being attacked by the Empire.

The Voltron team answered their distress call.

When they got there, the Balfent were in the middle of a fight to defend their planet with their ships and best pilots.

\- Keep the fight away from the ground. – Shiro instructed the team once they were on the Lions.

Allura and Coran contacted the leaders of the Balfent to announce that they were there to help.

One of the pilots contacted them immediately.

\- What took you so long to come, darlings? – the woman asked with a hint of humour on her voice.

Lance smiled immediately.

\- Hello there, cutie~

The whole team groaned.

The lady kept the professionalism after a giggle.

\- There is an income on your left side, Green guy!

\- Girl! I’m a girl!

\- Sorry, lass. My bad!

And the woman proceed to diverge an attack and still defend the Green Lion with her battle ship.

And, boy, did she know how to fly!

As if it was a second nature to her.

(Quite similar to Keith, but nobody wanted to acknowledge that).

She helped Shiro to coordinate the defence among her people.

She was daring.

She was unpredictable in a fight.

She was fearless.

Exactly what they were looking for.

Even before the battle end, they all had agreed: She was perfect for the Red Paladin position. They won the battle and immediately landed on the planet to talk to the local and to meet their perfect match.

The Balfent were ecstatic to meet the Legendary Voltron.

Their great pilot, Hailyn, was among them.

She was a beauty with soft yellow skin (yellow like soft butter, like all the other Balfents), brown hair tied in a messy ponytail, big pink eyes and some shiny white scales.

\- Pleasure to meet you on person, loves! – she said cheerfully.

She was _perfect_.

After they exchanged pleasantries with the Balfent leaders (with Allura turning up her nose at the celebratory music of the Balfent), the princess immediately jumped at the chance.

\- Noble leaders, as you may know, Voltron is a composition of five separate Lions and their paladins.

\- Yes, that is what the old Legend says!

\- Yes, yes. Unfortunately, we have yet to find a match for the Red Lion, since it is the Lion who chooses their paladin.

The Balfent made surprise noises. Allura continued.

\- Today, one of your pilots demonstrate an incredible capacity for flying and fighting. We are impressed. That is why we humbly ask if you would allow the fighter Hailyn to try to make a connection with the Red Lion.

They all seemed surprised and pleased.

Ecstatic.

Hailyn had a huge smile on her pretty face.

\- Me? Are you sure of that, princess, darling?

Allura nodded regally with a matching smile.

\- We are positive.

\- Well, what are we waiting for!? Lead the way, loves.

She asked tons of questions while they guided her to Red’s hangar. They all have a smile on their faces.

Everybody was ecstatic.

They had found it!

A perfect candidate.

Hailyn was perfect.

Well.

 _Almost_ perfect.

The only thing that made her imperfect was that Red didn’t lowered her force field for her.

Red stared at the scene with pity and annoyance.

As if she would open herself for anyone but her beloved cub Keith!

HÁ!

AS IF!

Red would roll her eyes if she could.

She pitied the young pilot, though.

Hailyn was not bad herself. Red could see that the lady had a strong heart and a lot of goodness and fierceness on her.

However, she was not a pure Lionheart.

Not like Keith.

She lacked the fire and passion that was all what Red looked in a paladin. There was no doubt that she was a great pilot and a great warrior, but she was not the one that the Red Lion longed for.

Hailyn touched the red force field for a few instants more before looking at the crowd that was watching the scene with a sad smile.

\- I’m sorry… I guess I’m not the chosen one after all…

\- That doesn’t mean that you are not special! – Lance was quick to say with a smile (that his friends knew that it was forced, even if it looked natural) – You are fierce on the battlefield! Girl, I wish I could fly like you!

She opened a happier tiny smile.

However, that smile didn’t placate the Voltron Team fury.

They said goodbye to the Balfent after a day of pleasantries. Hunk even discovered a new flavour enhancer in the form of a multicolour root that he started to cultivate on the castle.

Hailyn looked at them with a big and real hopeful smile and said earnestly “I hope you find your real Red Paladin soon!”, which only added more salt to the wound.

As soon as they were back on space, they all went to Red’s hangar with their wrath.

She was the closest thing to the Galra that they had after all.

Pidge kicked the red barrier with all he strength with a furious scream.

\- WHY CAN’T YOU FUCKING JUST ACCEPT THAT HE IS THE ENEMY AND MOVE ON!? HAILYN WAS THE PERFECT MATCH! YOU FUCKING IDIOT CAT!

Through Red’s eyes, the whole Pride of the Voltron Lions watched.

Green’s essence was ashamed.

“Forgive me, sisters, for my apprentice’s behaviour. She is not like that”.

“We know, Green” the Oldest said with a wise tone.

After Pidge was over with her outburst, Shiro and Allura got closer to the barrier.

\- For the sake of the team, - she said – for the sake of the UNIVERSE, please, forget about the Galra.

\- He is gone now, Red. – Shiro said with hard eyes – And he **won’t** come back.

All the Lions essences focused on their sister.

Red was oddly calm, even smug.

“While Keith’s heart beat, I won’t take any other pilot” she answered with pride, even if the Black Paladin couldn’t listen.

All the other Lions agreed with her.

Soon enough the Voltron team dispersed to deal with their anger in other ways.

Blue stayed with Red a little longer.

“Sis, how can you be so calm about this? You usually would be furious by now!”

Red chuckled/purred while her essence groomed her sister fondly.

“We waited ten thousand years for our cubs to come to us. And now that I fond mine, I will not let go of him. I’ll patiently wait until Destiny brings my Keith back to me”.

Blue purred back and groomed Red as well, like two kittens cleaning each other.

“Your kitten surely is someone special. I could feel his strength while he explored my cave…”

“You could have picked him for yourself. What stopped you, Blue?”

This time, Blue was the one that chuckled/purred.

“You waited patiently for your kitten. I waited patiently for mine. Keith is special, yes, but he is not my Lance. He doesn’t have the fluidity of water that my kitten have.”

“Too sharp for you, sis?”

Blue chuckled again.

“I guess he is. Good thing that we look for different types of Lionhearts, huh?”

“Indeed. I would hate to compete with you for my baby cub Keith”

“And I would despise competing with you for my kitten Lance”

“Mine is still the best cub, though”

“Let’s agree to disagree. Lance is clearly better”

And they bicker in a friendly way while purring for hours.

Meanwhile, things on the Main Bridge weren’t that amicable.

\- We have to hunt him down. – Shiro pronounced once again – Eliminating the plague seems to be the best course of action.

\- _Delenda est Carthago_. – Hunk mumbled to himself before saying aloud – For the last time: this would be murder!

\- FUCKING THINK HUNK! – Pidge shouted – We need a Red Paladin. One that isn’t the fucking enemy spy! And that stupid cat will refuse any candidate while the Galra is alive!

She was still furious.

Pidge liked to think that she was rational. And on her rational mind, there was no such thing as coincidences. Things always had logical explanations. Therefore, it was not coincidence that the Kerberos mission, the mission that was carrying the man the Galra was fooling (with all due respect to Shiro) was kidnaped. A perfect excuse to find the Voltron Lions.

Her family probably meant nothing for the Galra spy, and that hurts like hell.

(And that pain was clouding her judgement, but Pidge refused to acknowledge that).

She was after blood, after revenge, especially now that they found out that the Galra still had the Red Lion wrapped around his disgusting little finger, even with all the distance and all that time passed.

Hunk stood his ground.

\- It is still murder in cold blood and I don’t agree with that.

\- What is your fucking suggestion then!?

Hunk stayed in silence, not knowing what to answer.

For his luck, Lance had an alternative.

\- Maybe we just need to keep looking for a new paladin. – he said slowly – I mean, Hailyn was great, yeah. But she probably lacked something important that we didn’t see.

\- She was too nice! – Coran added, as if that was an important revelation – The Red Lion is known for her volatility. Maybe their personalities weren’t made to suit each other after all!

(Lance and Coran were still afraid to have blood on their hands, and that was the only reason they still sided with Hunk).

Hunk nodded.

\- We just have to keep looking! That is all!

Allura frowned.

\- Since we **_still_** have a dead-lock, this is the only solution. _For now_.

Pidge clenched her jaw and left the room, stepping hard on the floor.

Shiro crossed his arms.

\- I still think that eliminating that beast would be better.

Hunk glared at him.

\- So you have said. Over and over again.

Hunk hated to be the voice of reason on those occasions.

The situation stayed tense, since nothing else happened. They were still attacked sooner than what they expected. They still trained and answered for distress calls. And they have yet to find another good match for the Red Paladin.

When April came, Pidge had already deleted the Galra’s birthday from everybody’s phone.

As if he had never existed to begin with.

(She felt a great deal of pleasure for erasing his birthday from the records).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making off of the chapter:
> 
> People were asking about an update on the Voltron team and there it is! =D  
> I'm sorry that is seems a little rushed. This is one of the "bureaucratic" parts of the story. A part about hate, and that is not really fun ._.
> 
> Let me explain why this chapter about hate is important:  
> I am a sadistic writer, as you may have noticed. I really love to torture the characters that I love.  
> On the **Red Hero Saga** , for now I'm torturing Keith, the character that I love most, with the Galra transformation, the isolation, the super hearing, the bulling, the fear of being killed and the systematic opression that the hybrids face.  
> HOWEVER, I love all the characters on the VLD serie. Keith is just my favourite, but the others have a special place in my heart.  
> That is why I decided to torture them with a different thing: guilt.  
> So, in this chapter (and in the next 2 I guess), I'm giving them enough rope for them to hang themselves, when they realize what they had done 8Dc  
> So, stay tuned for that moment ;D
> 
> Speaking of that hate, they are in a violent process of dehumanizing Keith. That is why they call him **The Galra™** , not by his name. Another thing that will haunt them.  
> But enough with the spoilers haha xD
> 
> I really liked this chapter to develop a little of what Shiro is feeling.  
> According to my therapist, we connect to things through two ways: love and hate, and those are not mutually exclusive. Shiro and Keith have a deep conection that neither of them can destroy. It is like they looked at each other and decided that they were soulmates and the two of them stick with that concept. But while Keith keeps the connection with Shiro with love, Shiro for now is his connection with Keith with hate.  
> Shiro _needs_ to keep the connection alive, so he is doing it through hate. If he had broken the connection, he would act with indifference, not with hate.  
>  Just to explain what he is feeling.
> 
> Which leads us to the _Delenda est Carthago_ thing.  
>  I have the headcanon that Hunk knows Latin. I really don't know why xD  
> And, on learning Latin with his Ma, he also learned some about Ancient Rome History and the Punic Wars.  
> Summing up the Punic Wars: before Ancient Rome was an Empire, there was another reign that competed with them for the control of the Mediterranean Sea: Carthage. Rome and Carthage went to war against each other twice (Two Punic wars), and in the end of the second one, Carthage had lost and had become submisse to Rome. However, there was a Roman senator (Cato if I'm not mistaken) that would ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS include the phrase " _Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam_ " [Latin: Furthermore, (moreover) I consider that Carthage must be destroyed] on his speeches. His argument was that Carthage had risen against Rome after a defeat once, and that they could rise again. After A LOT of insistence, the Roman senate decided to completely destroy Carthage and to throw salt on their land (2 reasons: 1- to show that they were rich as fuck, since salt was the currency at the time; 2- to symbolize that nothing would EVER be born again on the ruins of Carthage).  
> The phrase _Delenda est Carthago_ is an abbreviation of the full sentence and an alusion to this insistence to destroy an "enemy" that is already down. Quite similar to what Shiro is doing here, hence the reference that Hunk is making. 
> 
> I tried to develop Hunk and Pidge too.  
> However, Hunk is basically the same as before, since there was nothing that could potentially change his head. Like, he suspect that something is wrong, but he cannot explain yet.  
> Meanwhile, I have to make a better effort for Pidge, because I REALLY feel like I was lacking on her development ._. I'll improve on the following chapters. At least I could include my small headcanon about her Jewish inheritance =D (another headcanon that I don't know why I have o.o I just do)
> 
> Man, I'm still in awe that 5 months passed on the story o.o  
> The Voltron team was more on tune with the passing time (because they don't have depression like Keith), so it was even more scary to see o.o
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed it! Leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this story s2
> 
> I'm on tumblr if you want to find me! (I'm kinda awkward, but yeah...).  
> [@wonderland-s-angel](wonderland-s-angel.tumblr.com). I swear that I don't bite, I'm just a dork with a pink blog.  
> I'm having some problems with the tagging system on tumblr, so if you want to tag me on something use my other url [@wonderland-s-angel-omens](wonderland-s-angel-omens.tumblr.com) and I'll see you =3
> 
> Comments help me to get going, you know. Like, SERIOUSLY, they keep me going. I'm insecure as hell and I need to know that you think of the new chapter.
> 
> I hope I’ll see ya in the next chapter.
> 
> Bye-bye! o/


	4. The Lion and the Dragon (PLUS: A Warning for Shiro)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I HOPE YOU HAVE READ CHAPTER 17 OF "What Makes a Hero?" BEFORE COMING HERE  
> OTHERWISE, I'LL BE REALLY SAD TT^TT  
> LOOK FOR IT ON THE "The Red Hero Saga" SERIES PAGE!!!!  
> If you have read chapter 19 of WMaH, enjoy this chapter =D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS STORY IS CONNECTED TO THE FANFIC "What Makes a Hero?". IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE UNLESS YOU ARE UP TO DATE WITH IT FIRST!
> 
> THIS STORY IS UNEDITED! EDITING IS FOR BABIES! WE SUFFER FROM BAD GRAMMAR LIKE ADULTS! (Just kidding. I'm too excited to publish to edit and my beta is unavaliable at the moment)  
> So, pardon any English mistakes (let me know if you find any). Also, Engrishi is not my first language, so forgive my mistakes if I don’t Engrishi well.
> 
> I don't know if I'm going to finish this, ok? So don't mind if I drop this in the middle (I'll try my best, though). YOU CAN ALLWAYS HELP WITH COMMENTS!
> 
> Just one little note before you start reading:  
> \- [text after dashes] = TALKING (A Romance Language custom, I guess)  
> "[Text between quotation marks]" = THOUGHTS/MEMORIES/THE LIONS TALKING BETWEEN THEMSELVES  
>  _text in italic_ = THE LIONS TALKING TO THE PALADINS/LATIN/Enphasis sometimes o.o
> 
> Now, to the story!

The Voltron Lions didn’t exactly sleep.

They could stay dormant for long periods, just distractedly feeling their surroundings. That way they could feel who was around them and how far away their paladins were. In the constant presence of their paladins, the Lions would stay alert all the time, talking to each other or with their respective paladins during calm periods and fighting when necessary.

With Keith galaxies away and absolute no news about him, Red couldn’t do much but to fall into the dormant state for most of the days. Sure, her sisters would show up frequently to talk to her (and she was very grateful for that), but they also have their own paladins to take care (especially because they were still trying to make them see that they had forsaken Keith). The only thing Red could do was to growl whenever one of them get to her hangar and keep her force field up.

Sometimes she would think and overthink about all the bad things that could have happened to her darling cub.

Blue was the one that would be there to placate her worries.

“His heart is still beating, isn’t that right, Red?” Blue would ask, licking her sister in affection.

Red would puff.

“Yeah! But he can still be hurt!”

Blue would chuckle and, purring to try to calm her sister.

“He is still alive, sis. We will find him”.

Reassured by her sister, Red would try to relax and just allow herself to be dormant.

She always HATED waiting.

Red wanted to DO SOMETHING!

Oh, but she couldn’t.

Gingerly, Red napped. Waiting for her cub Keith to come back to her and awaking at any movement, hyper-vigilant and worried that the next beat of Keith’s heart would be the last.

One afternoon, Red woke up startled.

There was a man inside her cockpit.

“What the fuck…!?” She couldn’t help but ask.

She hadn’t open her mouth to any man!

How the fuck that person entered!?

There was something different about him…

He didn’t have a body.

He was all ethereal essence, just like her and her sisters.

As if he was there and wasn’t at the same time.

Also, there was a weird smell about him.

Red remembered to have smelled something very similar during the curious process that was her creation.

The smell of someone who could see the future.

She hadn’t noticed at first on that time, but after Green pointed that out to her, it was clear as day. The seers she met thousands years ago, have always reminded her of different animals. The most prominent ones were the Galran wolves, a long family of seers that had kept contact with the Altean seers until Zarkon had killed them after days of intense torture.

(Not even Black understood why Zarkon hated seers that much. On the majority of the time, he would kill or order people to be killed in a quick and without great consideration, which was disturbing on its own. However, with any seer, he was cruel and evil, torturing them with wickedness before killing them).

The Altean seers had many smells, many animals to the Voltrons Lions to know. Deers, tigers, phoenixes, bulls, herons, cats, snakes, hippocampus just to name some.

The man on Red’s cockpit had a very rare smell.

A Dragon.

Even if that wasn’t evident by his smell, the moving little golden dragons on his clothes let that clear.

He looked around in awe.

Red growled, but he didn’t seem to listen.

\- Remarkable. – he praised in awe.

The man was wearing long white clothes with black on the tips. There were moving golden dragons on it, flying with interest between blue raining clouds, looking around just as interested as their master. (“Weird noodle dragons” Red noticed). He carried a type of sword that reminded Red of swords from the Bannu people (one of the many planets that Zarkon had wiped out).

The man had long light grey hair, arranged in a ponytail. His eyes were brown, small and rounder, looking around her cockpit in wonder. His face was sharp, with prominent cheekbones. He had beard around his mouth, a little darker than his hair. He was, by far, the older human Red had ever seen, but the way he stared at her in awe made him look younger, like a boy watching a firework show for the first time. (Also, she was older than him, so she could call him baby if she wanted).

There was something…

Something about him that was quite familiar to Red.

Maybe his appearance? Maybe the cheekbones? Or maybe the lips? Maybe the eyes…?

Red couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

He didn’t seem to be a threat, and she missed her cub _so much_ that even a stranger that was oddly familiar was welcome. Thus, Red just watched him warily.  

The dragon looked around before staring at the pilot chair in a fond way.

\- I can almost imagine him here…

He shook his head with a smile.

\- No time for that.

The man looked up.

\- May I speak with the Red Lion of Voltron?

She could feel his mind trying to touch hers, but he wasn’t a suitable candidate for a Red Paladin (maybe Blue would like him, since there was something… ‘water-y’ about him). So it was a meek attempt that she choose to ignore.

That didn’t restrain him.

\- My name is Hanzo. May I speak with you, please?

Red was still refusing to answer him, and was studying the dragon like a predator would stare at an unsuspecting prey.

However, the man said one thing that _really_ caught Red’s attention.

\- I have information about your pilot.

She growled, this time in a way that he could hear.

_Don’t you dare to try to use him as an excuse._

He smiled.

\- I’m not trying to use him as a way to fool you. I do have information.

_That I doubt. You probably don’t even know him!_

\- I beg to differ. I’ve just seen him.

 _Yeah, right_.

\- Well, his name is Keith, he is about his size, black hair, brutally honest yet very kind and selfless, purple skin-

_You have seen my cub!?_

Red abandoned any pretence to look composed. If that dragon really had information about her Keith, she would do anything to get it.

He nodded.

\- Yes, I have!

_Where is he? Is he ok? When did you see him?_

The dragon, Hanzo, laughed.

\- Slow down, please.

She growled.

_Tell me about Keith!_

\- In a moment. First, may I know your name? It seems impolite to just call you “lion”.

She glared at him. Hanzo seemed unfazed.

 _My paladins call me Red_. – she answered dryly.

He smiled.

\- Nice to meet you, Red. I could talk about what I know about Keith the whole afternoon.

 _But you won’t_.

\- No, I won’t.

_Why the fuck not?_

He smirked.

\- My reasons are my own. Maybe one day Keith himself will tell them to you.

_If you don’t fucking intend to tell me about my cub why the fuck did you invade my cockpit!?_

He was still calm.

\- I don’t came here to tell you about him. – his smile was big and smug – I came here to take you to him.

Red studied him attentively.

_I’m listening._

Hanzo nodded again.

\- I can take your essence to see him, even if it is for a short while.

_And why, pray tell, should I trust you, Mister Dragon?_

He shrugged. His little dragons seemed to do the same.

\- You shouldn’t. I gave you no reason for you to. As you pointed out, I came here uninvited.

 _If you are trying to convince me to follow you, you are failing_.

\- That is because my arguments are not based on reason, Red.

He blinked with a soft expression.

\- You are the lion of Voltron that represent determination, passion and instincts. All I ask is for you to trust your own gut feeling about me and my intentions.

_You are very bold to come here demanding my faith._

Hanzo’s smile was gentle.

\- I assure you that your leap of faith will have pleasing results. But, well, you need the faith part.

Red studied him again.

Although Hanzo had appeared out of nowhere inside her cockpit, he had been very respectful so far and he hadn’t imposed himself.

(Red still remembered the great suffering that Zarkon imprinted on her sister Black. The way he forced a bond with the Oldest couldn’t be described as anything but barbaric).

Her instincts told her to give him one shot.

_Very well, Mister Dragon. Lead the way._

Hanzo beamed.

\- I’ll need you to follow me through the astral realm. Please, stay close.

The astral realm was a way that the entire universe connected. The Alteans had a rich and complex explanation about that. Red always preferred to imagine the astral realm as the place to where all the energy and intentions of the souls went. It was a messy place, so she and her sisters only used that to check on each other and to keep an eye on their paladins (that was how she was capable of still feeling Keith’s essence, even galaxies way).

Hanzo was a good guide. His path was the clearest as possible in the middle of all the confusion.

(Something that Red knew only a prophet could do. They were interesting creatures, she supposed. Green was more interested in curious things and anomalies than her).

Red still wished that one of her sisters was with her. Maybe Yellow or Black. Bigger lions that could rely more on brute force. She could only count with her agility.

Without her body, they couldn’t leave the astral realm.

However, that wasn’t need.

Hanzo took her to a dream-like place.

A lovely garden with a river running through.

She had took the form of a real lioness.

The minute she set her paws there, she could smell it.

There was absolutely no mistake.

That was Keith’s smell.

Red ignored all the beautiful garden and she almost sprinted towards the gates on that stonewall. Hanzo just walked beside her, as if that was nothing.

As soon as she crossed the gates she saw him.

Her darling cub.

Their minds connected again, just like they always did, so naturally and gently.

It was him!

Keith!

Keith was there!

His face illuminated with a smile.

\- RED!

\- KEITH!

They run towards each other. Keith kneeled down to hug her and she throw her paws over his shoulders.

\- It is you! You are here! – Keith said between tears.

She could feel him, his emotions, his thoughts… Just like he could feel her back. Once again, bonded, as things should always be.

She could hear Hanzo walking towards them, meeting up with an old woman that watched their reunion with a gentle smile .

\- I followed your connection with her to help bringing your lion here. – he explained to Keith – I hope you don’t mind.

Both lioness and cub stared at Hanzo gratefully.

\- Thank you, Mister Dragon. – Red said earnestly. Keith nodded, agreeing with her.

Red couldn’t be more happy that he fulfilled his promised and her leap of faith had such great results.

The old lady was still smiling.

Now, _she_ was the oldest human Red had seem. Older even than Hanzo. Hanzo looked like her and their smell was similar.

Two dragons, mother and son.

\- Thank you for bringing her here, my bunny.

Hanzo sighed exasperated with the nickname (probably a thing from his childhood), but with a content smile.

\- Mooom…

The Madame Dragon chuckled.

\- Now, go wait with your brother.

He nodded and turned into a small golden dragon form. Then he went to the tree with many other dragons. He sat near a green dragon that had been saving a place for him (all children and grandchildren of the Madame Dragon, Red supposed).

Red licked Keith face before pawing it like an angry mother who had just found their lost cub.

\- What the hell happened?! Why did you left?!

Keith looked down.

He bit his lips as if he was ashamed.

She could feel through their bond that he wanted to tell her, but something (something that resembled a sense of duty somehow) was holding him back.

\- I’m so, so sorry Red…

She puffed with annoyance and hugged him again.

That didn’t matter.

All what mattered was that he was there with her.

Her beloved cub.

\- Do you have any idea of how worried I was!? You could be hurt or you could be dead and I couldn’t do a single thing! If I didn’t love you so much I would eat your face!

Keith chuckled, the insufferable darling brat.

\- I love you too, kitten.

She growled in annoyance.

\- I missed you, my darling cub.

He sighed and she licked him once again.

(It was a great experience to have a body and to be able to hold and lick and paw her cub. She loved it).

Madame Dragon got closer to the duo with a pleased smile.

Red stared at her.

The woman’s face was all wrinkled and her hair was white, tied in an elegant bun. She had high cheekbones like Hanzo, but smaller eyes and thinner lips. Her clothes were also white and with golden noodle dragons moving around pink flowers. She was beautiful and, for some reason that Red couldn’t pinpoint again, she was familiar to the lioness, as if Red knew her or a part of her. Madame Dragon seemed trustworthy, though (Keith seemed very relaxed near her).

\- I believe that the other golden dragon, Hanzo, was your son, wasn’t it, Madame Dragon.

The Dragon woman’s smile widen.

\- Correct, Madame Lion. My name is Yukiko, and, as a mother myself, reuniting a dragon with their egg or – she chuckled – a lion with their cub is the least I can do, even if temporally.

Keith smiled at her.

\- Thank you, Yukiko.

The old woman sighed.

\- Unfortunately, that is all I can do for you right now.

Keith stood up, still with a hand over Red’s head, scratching behind her ears (it was reeeeeeally good. She couldn’t help but purr to him).

Red stared at Yukiko with hard eyes.

\- You could help us reunite for real, Madame Dragon. – Red said calmly, but fierce. She need to pass a message.

\- I wish I could do this, Madame Lion, but if the two of you reunite now, your reunion would be short lived and would probably end in tragedy.

Red growled again. Yukiko was unfazed.

\- To reunite the two of you permanently, it all depends on Keith’s choice.

Keith stilled his hand over Red’s head and he looked down.

\- The choice between the Red Lion and the Red Hero.

Madame Dragon nodded.

\- Correct.

\- You two speak as if one of those choices were bad and the other was worse. – Red commented annoyed.

Yukiko sighed.

\- The name “Red Lion” is misplaced on purpose. It relies on the immolation of a Lionheart as if they were a sacrificial lamb. It would be a noble death, one that would inspire the other people to fight, maybe it would inspire even a revolution if done correctly, but a death nonetheless.

\- So why not just choose the Red Hero path? – the lioness couldn’t help but ask.

\- Because, Madame Lion, that path is not without dangers and pain. Becoming the Red Hero is to live in constant danger and bare a great amount of suffering. The Red Hero might also die in the middle of the war they will bring, but they are also the one that fulfil an old prophecy, a song of life and freedom.

Red grunted.

\- Both seems terrible.

\- And they are, on their own way.

Yukiko turned to Keith.

 - I am not going to lie to you, Keith. Even if it is your choice, my wish is for you to become the Red Hero. Not to fulfil some old prophecy, not for the glory and not for saving the universe, even if that is important.

Keith moved his hand in a gentle matter over Red’s head. They both stared at Yukiko.

\- What is the reason then? – Keith asked softly.

\- Becoming the Red Hero would be a long and sometimes agonizing process. A suffering that I would take from your shoulders if I could. However, - she smiled again – becoming this legendary Hero also would grant you the happiness you fought so hard your entire life.

She looked at Red’s cub in a weird way. Madame Dragon seemed to look at him with paradoxical eyes: relieved and worried at the same time. She was a seer, so it probably would make sense to her to feel conflicted like that, Red supposed.

Yukiko seemed to want the best for Keith, though, so Red was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

\- I want you to reach that. You deserve it, Keith. It is a dangerous path either way, and the choice is yours.

He looked down. He seemed insecure and lost. Red hated to see him like that. She tried to comfort him the best way she could.

\- I don’t know how to become this hero that you seers talk so much…

Madame Dragon smiled.

\- You will know, when the time comes. Just keep fighting. Keep trying to hold your destiny on your own hands. That will be enough to deliver to that fate.

Yukiko sighed.

\- But I have to warn both of you about one nasty side effect of one of the two prophecies you have upon on your head.

\- What is it?

Another sigh.

\- That bitch… - Yukiko shook her head to compose herself back again – Olirina, when she made that second part of the prophecy, she tied you with the Red Lamb future, either if you stay on it to the end or if you walk the path of the hero.

Red narrowed her eyes and another low growl rumbled on her chest (Keith scratched behind her ears to calm her down).

\- What exactly that means, Madame Dragon?

\- That means that his heart will have to stop beating.

Keith had visibly tensed when he heard that.

Red felt fear.

No!

NO!

NOOOO!

That was NOT HAPPENING!

Not if Red could help it.

As always, she used her anger as her sword and shield. She would do ANYTHING to protect her cub.

Red roared.

\- Are you fucking telling me that my cub-

\- I said, - the dragon interrupted the lioness tirade with strong words and determined eyes – that his heart have to stop beating, not that he has to die.

\- It seems like the same thing to me. – Keith said in a hard tone.

Yukiko nodded.

\- If you take the path of the Red Lamb, then your heart will stop forever. If you take the path of the Red Hero, that would be temporally.

\- How the fuck can a heart stop beating temporally? – Red asked annoyed – How the fuck you expect me to just accept this shit?

The Seer smirked.

\- That, only time will tell us. Nevertheless, neither of you need to worry. If Keith takes the hero path, the blood of the dark one will bring him back from death’s doorsteps.

Red growled (through their bond, she could feel that Keith shared the same annoyance as her).

\- Oh, another puzzle! And one that it is not ominous at all. – he said with sarcasm.

The lioness narrowed her eyes in suspicious.

\- Dark one? Aren’t darkness usually a bad thing?

The dragon chuckled.

\- Many things hide in the darkness, Keith and Madame Lion. Truth, love, revolutions just to name a few. The dark one will be on your side, do not worry. If you take the hero path, they will save your life, Keith.

\- How do you expect me to believe you? – Red asked still with some distrust.

Yukiko stared at her with determination.

\- You will have to have faith.

\- That isn’t enough.

\- Then I bet my own life. If Keith’s heart stop to beat on his own for more than three minutes, you can come to Earth and kill me.

Her tone was calm, but Red could see her certainty forged by fire.

The lioness’s eyes were wide.

\- By the Lion Goddess, that is a bold statement, Madame Dragon.

Yukiko laughed.

\- Not at all. I’m positive that if he took the hero path, he will survive. Oh, and by the way, - he had a large and smug smile on her face – you will _know_ if he takes that path, Madame Lion.

The way she spoke made Red feel a little bit more calm, a little bit more certain herself.

Yukiko looked to Keith with gentleness and bowed her head a little in respect.

\- The choice is yours.

Keith looked down. He still seemed so lost… Red tried to pass all her love towards him through their bond.

Yukiko sighed.

\- I’m afraid that our time is about to end.

\- What!? – Red positioned herself in front of Keith, as if to refrain the dragon to take him away – I’m not leaving without my cub!

Keith put a hand over Red’s head.

\- Kitty…

She turned to him and touched his tummy with her lowered head.

\- I don’t want to lose you again, Keith.

\- Oh, Red…

He kneeled down again to hug her.

\- There wasn’t a day that I didn’t thought about you. I miss you **so** much…

\- Come back home then. Please, my darling. Please.

Keith looked away, new tears on his eyes.

\- I can’t… I’m sorry…

\- This is temporary. – Hanzo said.

He had walked towards his mother once again, assuming his human form.

\- Fate will reunite the two of you again, one way or another.

Red puffed.

“One way or another” seemed kinda ominous, if he asked her.

However… Now she also could have hope.

Hope of having her darling with her again.

She nodded stiffly.

\- Very well, Mister Dragon.

He smiled.

\- Please follow me. I’ll take you back, Red.

Red licked Keith’s face.

\- I’ll wait for you.

Her tone was determined. She was pleased to see that Keith’s expression melted into a content and happy one. He smiled softly.

\- Ok.

\- We have to go, Red. – Hanzo said.

\- And you come with me. – Yukiko said to Keith.

Red nodded, both sides of their bond felling a little bit of hope blooming in their heart.

\- I’ll see you again, kitty.

\- You bet, my darling cub.

Red licked Keith’s face one last time.

She followed Hanzo toward the gate.

Red didn’t want to go.

She wanted to stay with Keith.

(Or that he stayed with her. That would be preferable).

She missed him soooo much…

Red looked back.

Her eyes went wide once again.

On the back of Keith’s leather jacket there was a…

Keith looked at her with uncertainty.

Red couldn’t help but smile at him and blink happily, to reassure her cub.

Behind him, Yukiko smiled and moved her finger to her lips in gesture to ask for silence.

Red nodded before following Hanzo through the gates.

Now the Dragons’ motives couldn’t be clearer. That explained A LOT. Also, Red couldn’t be more positive now that they were on Keith’s side, that they would do **_anything_** to help him and keep him safe and happy.

She felt herself relaxing.

He was in good hands.

(In the eventuality of he not surviving the three minutes that Yukiko promised, Red had an idea to where to start looking for her).

On the astral realm, Red couldn’t help herself but ask Hanzo a few questions.

_Is that red thing on my cub’s back an explanation to why you dragons are helping him, Hanzo?_

Hanzo chuckled.

\- You already know the answer for that, don’t you?

_I want to hear that from you._

He nodded calmly, but his dragons seemed a little agitated.

\- Yes, it is.

_And you are not telling Keith that because…?_

\- Because that would jeopardize his future.

_How is that?_

\- Think about it Red: if he knew about that, what would be the first thing he could probably do?

She blinked.

_Go back to Earth to see you, your mother and your whole family._

\- Correct. Now it is not the right time for him to come here. Not if we want him to walk the hero’s path.

_Makes sense._

\- That is why I beg you to keep that a secret for now.

She narrowed her eyes.

_Would my silence guarantee that he will walk this hero path, Mister Dragon?_

Hanzo sighed.

\- No, it wouldn’t. If there is one thing that I learned on the worst and best ways possible is that no future is set in stone. Even the prophecies can have multiples meanings. But… - he had a determined smile on his face and his dragons moved around smoothly – we sure are going to try.

He sighed quietly.

\- In the end, it is all Keith’s choice. We are holding this only detail from him, but we will provide him with any other truth that he needs or that he seeks in order to make him able to take his own decisions.

_It is a very big detail, if you ask me._

\- I know, and we plan to tell him about this on its due time. It is not easy for us, but we have to wait for the right moment.

Red pondered for a few moments.

_Will you still support him, right?_

Hanzo and his dragons beamed.

\- Of course! We will reassure him the best way we can and try to deliver him to his mother, that is you, his father and his sister in the smoothest way possible.

_Father and sister?_

Hanzo covered his mouth with his hand looking scandalized

\- I spoke too much.

His dragons, though, were snickering, barely containing their laugh while trying to hide their faces on his sleeves.

Red rolled her eyes.

 _No, you didn’t. You planned that, Mister Dragon._ – she smiled softly – _Thank you, though, for reassuring me that he won’t be alone._

Hanzo had a smug smile.

\- Oh, he won’t be alone, that is for sure. Lots of family, friends, and all. But that is a story for another time.

Hanzo pointed to a way out of the astral realm.

\- I’m afraid I can’t walk with you through the whole way this time, but this is your door.

Red nodded.

_Thank you, Hanzo. And make sure to thank your mother too._

He chuckled.

\- I will. Just make sure to keep that little detail a secret. Even from your sisters.

She sighed.

 _Yeah, I will_.

She jumped smoothly through the portal while Hanzo waved goodbye.

Just now she noticed that he had been using her connection with Keith to navigate. The feeling of her bond with her cub was so strong and comforting, that having even a third party using that gently made her feel good. Now that he was gone, she was feeling kinda empty.

Oh, how she missed her beloved Keith…

Her sisters were all reunited on her body when she got back.

“What is going on?” she asked confused.

The other four engulfed her in a tight embrace.

“RED!” Blue said in relief.

“By the Lion Goddness, Red, we are so worried!” Yellow whined.

“How the fuck did you even do that?” Green asked in awe.

The Oldest only sighed in relief.

Red was still confused.

“What do you mean? I was right here… well, kind of.”

“We suddenly feel as if you were far, far, faaaaaaaar away, sis” Blue said, starting to groom her sister like a worried cat parent “Galaxies away!”

Black agreed before saying:

“What happened, Red?”

Red beamed.

“You girls won’t BELIEVE on what happened…”

She proceed to tell her sisters about all what had happened, about seeing Keith again and about how he had strong allies looking over him. (Red kept her promise to Hanzo, though, and didn’t mentioned the big detail or their farewell conversation).

That night, for the first time since Keith had left, she was capable of stay relaxed and dormant through the whole night. She was happy that her beloved cub was in good hands.

 

* * *

 

For the first time in a while, the Voltron team needed to buy some things to help fixing the Castle after another Galra attack.

The attacks haven’t stopped at all. They were just the same as they always were, even if the Galra had left. They were still bitter about that.

After looking around for a while, the team FINALLY found a small spaceport that seemed to be easy to infiltrate.

(They didn’t have much info about how the rest of the universe was fairing, since they had no influent allies and they were just focused on the Galra military movements).

Shiro was among the ones that went to look for the spare pieces. He was hiding his face and arm with a long sleeved hoodie and gloves. Nobody should be able to identify him or Coran and Hunk that were there with him.

However, when they were just browsing the shops to find the pieces they need, they heard a small commotion.

\- Torian, no!

\- Torian, YES!

Then an angry alien jump on Shiro, trying to claw and hit him as hard as they can.

Shiro and the others were startled to say the least. He was fighting to avoid being injured. The alien was screaming at him.

\- HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM! HE LOVES YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!

They hit Shiro’s left cheek and scratched his face a lot. Not enough to scar, but it was hurtful nonetheless.

The other aliens were fast to grab their friend.

The aliens had brown skin that reminded Shiro of different shades of wood. Since their hair were leaves with natural earth leaf colours, it was pretty easy to picture them as being talking trees.

\- I’m really sorry sir! – one of the aliens said.

\- I don’t know what got into tree! – said another, still holding Torian back.

Coran looked at him concerned while Hunk helped him regain his balance.

\- Are you all right, Shiro?

Shiro nodded.

\- Yeah, I’m fine.

He stared at the alien.

\- What did you meant by that?

Tre raised tree head in challenge.

\- You KNOW what I’m talking about! How the fuck could you treat the Crimson Hero, the love of your miserable life, like that!?

Shiro’s and Coran’s expressions became hard. Hunk was looking to everybody’s face (desperately trying to find a way out of that situation).

\- So you met the lying bastard? – Shiro asked casually.

Torian glared at him.

\- No, but I saw it, just like I see the future right now! Olirina might have been a bitch, giving you a warning she _knew_ you wouldn’t listen to instead of actually helping. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are a piece of shit!

Olirina?

That meant that…

\- You are a seer. – Hunk conclude with wide eyes.

The brown seer glared at them. Tree friends let tree go, but they watch the whole thing with apprehension.

Tre rolled tree eyes.

\- Of fucking course that I am! But I don’t need to be one to know that you fucked with a very good man! Look at what you fucking did to him! He has anxiety now!

Shiro glared at tree.

\- Oh, does he? Good.

He turned his back and walked away with his anger and hurt ego, followed by Coran. Hunk looked between the two parties before sighing and walking with Shiro.

Torian was not done.

\- YOU WILL REGRET THAT, YOUR BASTARD! THIS MISTAKE WILL HAUNT YOU DOWN AND EAT YOU ALIVE! MARK MY WORDS, BASTARD!

They ignored tree.

That night, Shiro destroyed training bot after training bot to contain his anger.

He didn’t want to think about that prophet word.

His decision was the right one. Period. That Galra should be dead instead of allowed to run free like the coward he was. In his mind, Shiro was a paladin of Voltron and one of the victims of that cruel Galra Empire. He refused to listed on reason. He felt guilty that he still missed that dammed Galra, but he believed that killing him would fulfil that hole in his heart that was there since he discovered the betrayal.

On that same night, Torian looked up to the sky in the Castle direction (even if it was light-years away). Tre shook tree head.

\- Idiots. – tre said, looking into the penitence all the Voltron team would go through in the future.

Tre chuckled, seeing the future, seeing Shiro crawling at tree feet, begging. Not exactly enough on tree opinion, but it was a good punishment.

Tre couldn’t wait for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making off of the chapter:
> 
> SINCE IT TOOK ME THAT LONG TO UPDATE, HAVE A DOUBLE UPDATE TO MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY! =D
> 
> Have you missed Mama Red? Because I HAVE!  
> I REALLY LOOOOOOOOOOVE the concept of Mama Red, and I've been talking about it EVEN BEFORE S2. She Never fooled me, she is the most motherly of all the Lions <3
> 
> Also, it was good to make this chapter for the story o.o  
> I mean, on my original planning, there would be another chapter, a VERY FRUSTRATING chapter, that the paladins would be on denial that Keith is innocent. This chapter that you have just read here would have been an extra.  
> HOWEVER, when I was writing this chapter that you have just read I realized that I could cut that frustrating chapter and exchange it for this one =D  
> For the Brazillians out there, here is one of our memes haha: _Você pode trocar um capítulo desnecessário com o Time Voltron só sendo chato, por um capítulo super legal com a Red reencontrando o Keith._  
>  hahaha, sorry world, but Brazillian memes are THE BEST AND YOU WOULDN'T GET THE REFERENCE HAHAHA
> 
> AHEM, anyways...  
> This chapter was made also because I LOOOOOOOOVE to put mystery on my stories 8D  
> Yeah, I'm a bitch, yeah, I already stablished that on the "What Makes a Hero?" chapter.  
> But what do you people think? 83c why can Keith get in contact with this seer family and why are they helping him? 8Dc I would love to hear your thoughts
> 
> That was all about Red's part.
> 
> About Shiro's part....  
> Well, what can I say?  
>  **I'm preparing the noose for him 8Dc so I need him to tie the knots**  
>  That was why I made that final part 83c  
> I want to torture him with his own guilt, and having a character that KNOWS where Keith is, but will not tell Shiro is the cherry on the top of my revenge pie 8D
> 
> Also, in case you haven't understood, here are Torian's pronoums:  
> Tre/Tree/Treel  
> (I know that it sounds like the word "tree", but hey, they are plant people, so it makes sense in my head. Also, these specific aliens don't have genders. They ALL have both sexes on their body, like some types of plant. Yeah, I got inspired by trees. I love trees. Fight me).
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed it! Leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this story s2
> 
> I'm on tumblr if you want to find me! (I'm kinda awkward, but yeah...).  
> [@wonderland-s-angel](http://wonderland-s-angel.tumblr.com/). I swear that I don't bite, I'm just a dork with a pink blog.  
> I'm having some problems with the tagging system on tumblr, so if you want to tag me on something use the story's tumblr URL [@theredherosaga](https://theredherosaga.tumblr.com/) and I'll see you =D
> 
> Comments help me to get going, you know. Like, SERIOUSLY, they keep me going. I'm insecure as hell and I need to know that you think of the new chapter.
> 
> I hope I’ll see ya in the next chapter.
> 
> Bye-bye! o/


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